PARISHIONERS in East Devon face a long wait before they can return to a church which was forced to close because of flooding.

St Andrew’s Church at Feniton shut its doors exactly a year ago when freak storms caused widespread flooding in East Devon.

Floodwater several feet deep swamped the village, near Ottery St Mary, and its centuries-old church, which is a Grade-II* listed building.

Church leaders are claiming £200,000 from insurers to carry out repairs and restoration after the floor was ruined and damage was caused to the oak pews.

Floodwater also submerged the churchyard containing many old tombstones.

The damage followed a four-year fundraising campaign to raise £170,000 for a new roof.

The vicar of St Andrew’s, the Rev Cate Edmonds, Note: corrsaid because of the historic importance of the church it was taking longer than normal to get the necessary authority to progress with the repair work.

She said a priority was to replace oil-fired heating with a new £60,000 system, but the insurance only covers the cost of a new boiler.

“Much of the floodwater came up from underneath,” she said. “The force of the water going through the church at a rate of knots was frightening. We need to replace the heating system and the floods washed a lot of debris into the church from outside.

“There are about 30 pews and some 16 of these are medieval. Some are being restored due to water damage.”

Mrs Edmonds said she wanted work to proceed as quickly as possible on the fabric of the church because there was a wedding booked for next May.

She has also appealed for contributions as the church aims to raise £150,000 towards the cost of new toilets and a kitchen to transform the it into a venue for communal use, as well as a place of worship.

“We have raised about £8,000 towards this project. Some of this money will also have to be spent on replacing part of the floor which is not covered by insurance,” she said.

Church warden David Lanning said support to reopen the church had come from various bodies and he hoped it would be in use again as soon as possible.

In the meantime, congregations are attending churches at Payhembury and Escot, which are also served by Mrs Edmonds.